Why I Hate Acrylic Nails and What I Use Instead

I love having beautiful nails to look at. It really is for my viewing pleasure alone, although compliments from strangers are nice too.

Over the years, I've tried several different nail types. Here's my unsponsored, unaffiliated opinion on them.

This is the acrylic set I decided to splurge on at the beginning of this summer. The nail tech made them super chunky. He said these would be more durable since I like to work with my hands, and less costly in the long run because they can be filled and trimmed down every two to three weeks instead of having to get a brand-new set each time.

A couple weeks later (they still looked great, just too long) I had them filled and changed the color. I asked the tech to make them as short as possible and this was as short as she could make them.

Ok, so here's the part where I tell you how awful they are. What happened was, a couple of weeks after my second fill, I opened the front door to go inside my house and my fingernail got caught on the door frame. I did a lot of very loud cussing, because IT HURT SO DANG BAD. This is how I cope with pain, sorry neighbors. This happened again a few days later when I closed my car door.

Both times were super-duper painful, and my nails weren't even that long. It's the kind of pain that lasts a few hours, although the most intense part is right after it happens.

After the second accident, I decided to go to a salon and have them removed immediately.

To my surprise, this is what they looked like underneath. They aren't so pretty now. My nails feel super thin, not to mention the case of "greenies"---technically known as chloronychia (caused by a bacteria) on my middle fingernail. It's appropriate it's on my middle finger though.

The nail tech who removed them told me that greenies is a fungus, and I shouldn't put nail polish or anything over the top of it until it is all grown out. Lovely, just lovely.

So, at over $50 a pop and all the pain, suffering, and ugliness, I really don't think acrylic nails are worth it. Also, there are certain things I can't do with nails like this, such as, picking a quarter off the ground. And typing on my phone became much more difficult. So yeah, never again.

Here's what I should have done instead. I should have saved my money and used Dashing Diva Nail Strips, available at Walmart, Dollar General, drugstores, and online. As long as I put them on right before I go to bed, they will keep looking great for a couple of weeks even with all the different things I put them through.

The reason why I say they need to be put on right before bed, is because they need time to completely cure before handwashing, otherwise, some of them might peel off. That was my experience when I put them on right after lunch, one time.

It's actually a relaxing thing to do right before bedtime, the price is so much better, and I can watch the show of my choice at the same time. Plus, they come off easily with nail polish remover.

I like to mix up the different sets.

These have Dashing Diva Nail Stickers on top of my middle and my ring finger. I just love them.

I even put them on my toenails; although it's more of a challenge.

I wasn't expecting to turn these photos into a blog post, but the horrible experience with acrylic nails inspired me to help others to avoid what happened to me.

P.S.

I've never had a problem with gel or dip nails; however, those are harder to remove and cost more money. I once ordered Lily and Fox online, sadly, they wore off on the edges, so that was disappointing. Color Street is another good one, but they cost almost twice as much as Dashing Diva.